| Military Service of Presidents of the United States | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| President | State | Term of Office | Summary of military service | |
| From | To | |||
| George Washington | Va. | 30 Apr 1789 | 4 Mar 1797 | Virginia Militia 1754-58; on General Braddock's staff in 1755; appointed C-in-C of armed forces of the Co 1783; commissioned Lt Gen and appointed to command of US Army on a standby basis 3 Jul 1798; died 14 Dec 1799. |
| John Adams | Mass | 4 Mar 1797 | 4 Mar 1801 | No record of service. |
| Thomas Jefferson | Va | 4 Mar 1801 | 4 Mar 1809 | No record of service. |
| James Madison | Va | 4 Mar 1809 | 4 Mar 1817 | No record of service. |
| James Monroe | Va | 4 Mar 1817 | 4 Mar 1825 | 2d Lt to Maj in Revolutionary War serving from 28 Sep 1775 to 20 Dec 1778. |
| John Q. Adams | Mass | 4 Mar 1825 | 4 Mar 1829 | No record of service. |
| Andrew Jackson | Tenn | 4 Mar 1829 | 4 Mar 1837 | Maj Gen of Volunteers 1812-14; Brig Gen in US Army 19 Apr 1814; Maj Gen in US Army 1 May 1814; discharged 1 Jun 1821. |
| Martin Van Buren | N.Y. | 4 Mar 1937 | 4 Mar 1841 | No record of service. |
| William H. Harrison | Ohio | 4 Mar 1841 | 4 Apr 1841 | Ensign to Capt in US Army 1791-98; resigned 1 Jun 1798; appointed Brig Gen, US Army, 22 Aug 1812 and Maj Gen 2 Mar 1813; resigned 31 May 1814. |
| John Tyler | Va | 4 Apr 1841 | 4 Mar 1845 | Raised a company for the defense of Richmond in 1813. |
| James K. Polk | Tenn | 4 Mar 1845 | 4 Mar 1849 | No record of service. |
| Zachary Taylor | La | 4 Mar 1849 | 9 Jul 1850 | Rose from 1st Lt, 3 May 1808 to Maj Gen 29 Jun 1846, US Army, with service in War of 1812 and Mexican War; out of service only from 15 Jun 1815 to 17 May 1816; resigned 31 Jan 1849. |
| Millard Fillmore | N.Y. | 9 Jul 1850 | 4 Mar 1853 | No record of service. |
| Franklin Pierce | N. H. | 4 Mar 1853 | 4 Mar 1857 | Private to Brig Gen of Volunteers 1846-48 for service in Mexican War. |
| James Buchanan | Pa | 4 Mar 1857 | 4 Mar 1861 | No record of service. |
| Abraham Lincoln | Ill. | 4 Mar 1861 | 15 Apr 1865 | Capt of Volunteers 21 Apr 1832-27 May 1832; private in Volunteers 29 May 1832-16 Jun 1832 during Black Hawk War. |
| Andrew Johnson | Tenn | 15 Apr 1865 | 4 Mar 1869 | Brig Gen of Volunteers 4 Mar 1862-3 Mar 1865 serving as military governor of Tennessee. |
| Ulysses S. Grant | D.C. | 4 Mar 1869 | 4 Mar 1877 | Cadet USMA 1839-43; rose from brevet 2d Lt to Capt 1 Jul 1843; resigned 31 Jul 1854 with service in Mexican War; Col of Volunteers 17 Jun 1861 to Gen US Army 25 Jul 1866; commanding general, US Army, 12 Mar 1864-3 Mar 1869. |
| Rutherford B. Hayes | Ohio | 4 Mar 1877 | 4 Mar 1881 | Maj of Volunteers 27 Jun 1861 to Brig Gen of Volunteers 19 Oct 1864; brevet Maj Gen 13 Mar 1865; resigned 8 Jun 1865. |
| James A Garfield | Ohio | 4 Mar 1881 | 19 Sep1881 | Lt Col of Volunteers 21 Aug 1861 to Maj Gen of Volunteers 19 Sep 1863; resigned 5 Dee 1863. |
| Chester A. Arthur | N.Y. | 20 Sep 1881 | 4 Mar 1885 | Inspector general and quartermaster general of New York Militia in Civil War. No Federal service. |
| Grover Cleveland | N.Y. | 4 Mar 1885 | 4 Mar 1889 | No record of service. |
| Benjamin Harrison | Ind. | 4 Mar 1889 | 4 Mar 1893 | 2d Lt of Volunteers 14 Jul 1862 to Col of Volunteers 7 Aug 1862; brevet Brig Gen 23 Jan 1865; mustered out 8 Jun 1865. |
| Grover Cleveland | N.Y. | 4 Mar 1893 | 4 Mar 1897 | No record of service. |
| William McKinley | Ohio | 4 Mar 1897 | 14 Sep 1901 | Private in Volunteers 23 Jun 1861 to Capt of Volunteers 25 Jul 1864; brevet Maj 13 Mar 1865; mustered out 26 Jul 1865. |
| Theodore Roosevelt | N.Y. | 14 Sep 1901 | 4 Mar 1909 | Lt Col of Volunteers 6 May 1898 to Col 11 Jul 1898; mustered out 15 Sep 1898. |
| William H. Taft | Ohio | 4 Mar 1909 | 4 Mar 1913 | No record of service. |
| Woodrow Wilson | N.J. | 4 Mar 1913 | 4 Mar 1921 | No record of service. |
| Warren G. Harding | Ohio | 4 Mar 1921 | 2 Aug 1923 | No record of service. |
| Calvin Coolidge | Mass | 3 Aug 1923 | 4 Mar 1929 | No record of service. |
| Herbert Hoover | Calif | 4 Mar 1929 | 4 Mar 1933 | No record of service. |
| Franklin D. Roosevelt | N.Y. | 4 Mar 1933 | 12 Apr 1945 | No record of service. |
| Harry S. Truman | Mo. | 12 Apr 1945 | 20 Jan 1953 | 1st Lt in National Guard 1917 (entered Guard in 1905) to Capt 11 Nov 1918; remained in Reserves after WWI; Col in Reserves 1927. |
| Dwight D. Eisenhower | N.Y. | 20 Jan 1953 | 20 Jan 1961 | Cadet USMA 1911-15; 2d Lt in RA 12 Jun 1915 to General of the Army 20 Dec 1944; Chief of Staff 19 Nov 1945 to 7 Feb 1948; resigned 18 Jul 1952; served in WW I and commanded ETO in WWII |
| John F. Kennedy | Mass | 20 Jan 1961 | 22 Nov 1963 | Commander, US Navy WWII. |
| Lyndon B. Johnson | Tex | 22 Nov 1963 | 20 Jan 1969 | Lt. Commander, US Navy, WWII, Commander US Naval Reserves 1948. |
| Richard M. Nixon | Calif | 20 Jan 1969 | 9 Aug 1974 | Lt. Commander, WWII. |
| Gerald R. Ford | Mich. | 9 Aug 1974 | 20 Jan 1977 | Lt. Commander, US Navy, WWII. |
| Jimmy Carter | Ga. | 20 Jan 1977 | 20 Jan 1981 | Lt. Commander, US Navy 1946-1953. |
| Ronald W. Reagan | Calif | 20 Jan 1981 | 20 Jan 1989 | Acted in US Army training films. |
| George H.W. Bush | Tex | 20 Jan 1989 | 20 Jan 1993 | Lt. WWII, US Navy pilot. |
| William J. Clinton | Ark. | 20 Jan 1993 | 20 Jan 2001 | No record of service. |
Bibliography
Kreidberg, Lt. Col. Martin A. and 1st Lt. Merton G. Henry. History of Military Mobilization in the US Army 1775-1945. Department of the Army. 1955. (Presidential data through Eisenhower compiled by the General Reference, Office of the Chief of Military History)
Jacobson, Doranne. Presidents and First Ladies. Smithmark, 1995.
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